SHERBURNE –The state of rural EMS service has been a priority in the Village of Sherburne. With reimbursements often falling far short of the cost of the services, area municipalities are left to foot the bill.

“Rural EMS should be declared a public health emergency in my opinion,” said Village of Sherburne Mayor William Acee. “Funding is critical in rural areas.”

While fire services are deemed an essential service that municipalities must provide, EMS services are not. Area municipalities have the option to provide those services at their discretion, and for many towns and villages the cost is too high. “EMS should become an essential service and the counties should be the lead for EMS. In fact, the state passed a law that all counties must have an EMS plan.”

One of the critical problems with the system is that Medicaid and Medicare reimbursements are too low. “We do not recover our costs for those call,” Acee explained. The village does well with no fault and provider-pay billing however.

According to Acee, standardized data collection and availability would make the process easier, but bigger issues such as funding and a shortage of EMS providers needs to be addressed. Currently EMS services are handled by the Department of Emergency Management. “NYS Department of Health should exercise more input. Hospitals are in need of ambulances too.”

State-wide the number of eligible EMS providers renewing their certification is down nearly 25 percent. “Finding help day to day is a concern.” Historically, the Sherburne EMS providers have been a volunteer agency. However over time, the agency has become almost fully paid. “We have one volunteer left.” The fire department is still a volunteer agency.

Assemblyman Joseph Angelino (R-Norwich) recently weighed in on the issue as well. Speaking to the New York State Assembly on the proposed 2026-2027 state budget, Angelino explained that Medicaid rates for ambulance transports are currently only reimbursed at about 50 percent.

“As a volunteer first responder, I have seen firsthand that Emergency Medical Services (EMS) have been in crisis for years—especially in rural areas,” Angelino said in a press release. “Rural EMS is an 'out of sight, out of mind' problem that becomes all too real when you or a loved one need an ambulance.”

Last year, Angelino and Assembly member Diane Lupardo (D-Endwell) co-sponsored a bill intended to address funding issues for emergency medical services by removing those expenditures from the limit on real property tax levies by local governments. The bill passed the State Assembly with near unanimous support, however in December it was vetoed by Governor Kathy Hochul.

“Short term financial relief now must come in the state budgetary  process by increasing rates paid for Medicaid transportation.  Rural EMS is on shaky ground and cannot survive on dedication and pride alone,” Angelino said.

In Sherburne, Acee said the situation is not hopeless. “If we did everything right, made no mistakes, and hit all of our goals, we could survive and succeed as EMS. But just like with any other business, there is not a lot of forgiveness if you make missteps.”

Sherburne’s EMS service had previously had a contract with the Town of Columbus, however this year, Columbus contracted with New Berlin for EMS service instead. However, even without the contract, Sherburne EMS still responds to mutual aid calls in Columbus and other neighboring areas.

“We just don’t get the contractual tax dollars,” Acee said. Sherburne is also in a unique position, because the Town of Sherburne funds the EMS program, while the village runs it. When additional funds need to be appropriated to the EMS program, the village has to go to the town to ask. “If we could tax for EMS service, if we had total control, we could have a better chance at fixing this problem, but there are so many variables and most of them are beyond our control.” Acee said.